Tuesday, April 12, 2011

10 Remarkable Individuals in Aid

  1. That guy who, having been an incompetent bureaucrat his whole career, has become an efficient, result-oriented employee after having attended a HRI management training;
  2. The guy who changed his domestic ways to become a loving, caring husband after having been exposed once at a road-crossing to a billboard that said: "Stop GBV Now! (HRI with support from Country South of Canada)";
  3. The underpaid employee of a community-based HRI affiliate who felt a sudden commitment-inducing calling after a brief meeting with a HRI consultant who spoke to him about HRIs "Vision and Mission Statement" during a short field-trip;
  4. The Donor representative who, every month, reads every one of the 76 reports they receive from relevant HRI affiliates and therefore has a very clear idea of what each affiliate is doing and where they need most support;
  5. The refugee-camp dweller whose quality of life has suddenly improved after her camp was visited briefly by Angelina, who successfully "declared" an "end to violence now";   
  6. The inhabitant of the village in "Africa" whose life has changed to the better once she received a slightly used pair of shoes from a mythical place South of Canada;
  7. The owner of a yogurt-business in Baltimore who succeeded to "give something back" during his one-month trip to the Philippines, when he gave a free lecture abut yogurt to a group of local entrepreneurs, facilitated by his local church back home;   
  8. The government employee who has successfully made the transition from a cynical, underpaid, mis-qualified relative-of-someone-important to a dynamic, modern element of change in the government, after having interacted with a HRI "Technical Advisor" during a capacity building workshop;
  9. The guy who returned part of his per-diem after a trip to Nairobi, claiming that the three meals and tea offered during the training were quite sufficient for his subsistence; 
  10. The "social media enthusiast" who learns something from the daily platitudes posted on the HRI official twitter account ("HRI Executive Director mentions importance of right-based approach in speech given at meeting with African Delegates") 
Here's to all these remarkable people. The world of aid would just not be the same without you.

14 comments:

  1. How about Emma? Is she not a remarkable individual too?

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  2. Isn't Emma covered under No.4?

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  3. The day I see #9 happen is the day I move to investment banking.

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  4. @anonymous - better move over to investment banking, then. I've seen #9 happen. More than once. (And no, it wasn't me, for heavens' sake).

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  5. I think Nr. 7's wife was at HEAL Africa recently to teach Congolese women how to knit.

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  6. loved it. my fave is #10. i am surrounded by fat, ugly social media enthusiasts at work - all of them middle-aged and only 'important' within the tiny confines of their hierarchical microcosm, of course. they all think their association with social media somehow grants them automatic cred...barf. and their twitter accounts sound exactly like #10's.

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  7. Don't forget the 16 year old sex worker who embraced secondary abstinence after another billboard telling her to change her behaviour (which was translated for her as she did not know English)

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  8. I think you forgot "the aid worker just back from several days on the field who picks up a local girl at the nightclub "to relieve the field pressure", sleeps with her, pays her something, comforts himself as "it was her first time doing this and normally she's a hairdresser" and the goes back to his day job of campaigning against sexual exploitation, GBV and general empowerment issues"

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  9. You forgot to include the Technical Advisor who accepted a lower monthly rate, gave up his annual business class return leave fare, opted not to have his children's school fees paid in his salary package, accpted renting a 5 year old 3 bedroom apartment in lieu of the standard brand new 4 bedroom one and is driving a 5 year old SUV... because he is not doing it for the paycheck. He is doing it because he wants to make a difference.

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  10. Sweet! Im No. 1, reading this blog counts as HRI online E-Training quo no?
    The 2 years of reading the good Dr.'s preachin is paying off....now when do i get my glass award/trophy in Brussels, please drop of my tickets and visa's and traveling quart o' bourbon at any of our partner field offices that we share the rent with in 8 communites, to me, the landlord.
    Regards

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  11. My HRI-affiliate (or similar) strongly believes in the power of No. 2. In conjunction with a plethora of community-led GBV workshops conducted with the support of Country South of Canada, obviously. Oh yes, it could happen...

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  12. Can we do Oscaqrs for development programmes please. I have a few.

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  13. I mean Oscars. My technical ability has been impaired by an ex pat party.

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  14. I like this a lot. Have you read http://kitchenaid.posterous.com/

    Similarly ascerbic.

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